04/04/2021
97% OF LUMBAR DISC HERNIATIONS MANAGED SUCCESSFULLY WITHOUT SURGERY, SAYS STUDY. Results of a retrospective cohort study [1] including almost 280,000 subjects have concluded that pr*****ed lumbar intervertebral discs may be successfully managed without the need for surgery in 97% of cases.
The study examined the records of adults presenting 2007 to 2017 selected from a large insurance database. Only 3% failed non-operative therapy and underwent microdiscectomy.
Of the patients requiring surgery, the majority were male and an association was found with a history of lumbar spinal epidural injection or perioperative opioid use, leading the study to conclude that male gender and a history of prior opioid use were independent predictors of non-operative treatment failure.
The study provides yet more evidence supporting treatment and management interventions for lumbar disc herniation commonly provided by chiropractors, including manual therapy, education, exercise prescription and self-management strategies.
References: [1] Lilly DT, Eldridge CM, Singh R, Montgomery EY, Bagley C, Adogwa O. An assessment of non-operative management strategies in a herniated lumbar disc population: successes versus failure. Global Spine J. 2020 Jul 7;2192568220936217. doi: 10.1177/2192568220936217.
Image courtesy of Dynamic Disc Designs (https://dynamicdiscdesigns.com/)
